Terra Sancta
by Hyperion0317
Summary: After spending 5 years in Hell, Severus Snape is sent back to 1976 with a mission. A/U


**Disclaimer**: JK Rowling and pals own all original characters and concepts.

**A/N: **. I am in _**desperate**_ need of a beta as this is my first fanfic. If any of the readers are interested or know of a way for me to get one, please send a PM. Review please! Constructive criticism appreciated!

I was thinking one day, what if Snape got sent on the hocrux hunt instead of Harry. Things quickly spiraled out of control as I started typing. I ended up with… this. Oh well. Everything about hell will be explained in later chapters. Rated M to give me some leeway for language, violence, and future stuff. Last bit influenced by the truly epic fic, _Come Once Again and Love Me _**by laventadorn**

* * *

**Prologue**

He had been fighting for five years now, an odyssey rife with blood and suffering. Betrayal was of common occurrence here, as was the killings. For five years, Severus Snape fought his way through the thirteen districts of Hell. There were rumors of an escape in the center. He had fallen six times throughout his journey in Hell and had woken up at the outskirts of the thirteenth district.

He was close to the center, that much he knew. Severus had spent the last 9 months of his afterlife fighting, lying and sneaking his way through the thirteen districts. Nearly every minute of every day was spent running and hiding from the numerous patrols of legions, grotesque decomposing creatures that made up the lower echelon in the demon hierarchy.

"Visum," whispered Snape. The glowing outlines of six legion flickered into view. Magic was relatively useless in combat here, given that the demonic entities were immune to nearly all branches of magic. He had quickly picked up that muggle weapons and tactics were usually far more effective at combating legion. Reconnaissance is what Severus generally used his magic for. Five of the legion were guarding something inside the large, Colosseum-esque structure that encompassed the center of the first district. The other one was patrolling the road near the entrance.

Severus hid in a dark alley behind a pile of rubble, laying prone to further reduce his profile, waiting for the perfect time to strike. After a few minutes, one of the legion reached the alley and peered into it. Severus held his breath as it stood there for a few moments, eyes narrowing as it tried to make out the objects hidden in the shadows. The legion snarled before walking away, seemingly unaware of the hidden man in front of him.

Severus let out a breath as he unsheathed his knife and rose, stalking his unsuspecting target. He stealthily pursued the legion before he covered the it's mouth and violently stabbed the knife into the base of the skull, slicing through vital tissue and severing the spinal cord, instantly killing it. Blood poured out of the violently twitching corpse, spraying Severus as he removed the knife.

Carefully making sure to mask his presence, Severus entered the structure and quickly made his way to what he presumed was the arena. In the center of the circular room was a glass orb on a pedestal. The legion formed a circle, surrounding the orb while facing out.

_Fuck_. He had no way to sneak past the guards, there was simply too much exposed ground to cover. He had to take care of the legion before he could reach the orb. He had never successfully taken on this many legion in open combat before. This was it, the years of blood, tears and suffering had come down to this moment. Removing his dagger from its sheathe on his belt, Severus put the blade on his left wrist and proceeded to cut, wincing slightly as he felt the blade slice his tendons.

"HEY!" yelled Severus as he emerged from his hiding position. The legion roared at him, their rotting flesh making grotesque squelches as they ran toward him, weapons drawn, ready to dismember him. With blood rapidly making its way out of his wrist and onto the floor, Severus lifted his left arm in front of him and began to whisper the incantation. 30 feet… 20 feet… 10 feet. He smirked as he was about to finish the incantation.

"_Terra Sancta_." A ball of shadows instantly engulfed the five of them before rapidly dissipating. All six were covered in black and blood red flames. The legion were screaming in agony, dropping to their knees and abandoning their duties while futilely trying to put out the cursed flames. Severus staggered past the burning demons. The pain was excruciating. Severus fought the urge to vomit as the smell of his burnt flesh made its way to his nose. His skin bubbled and his right eye had seared shut as he walked falteringly to the orb. The screams from the legion had stopped. Shadows began to creep around the edges of his vision. 5 feet to the sword… 2 feet… His right hand grasped the orb, the skin and muscle crunching as it surrounded the cool glass.

"No," cried Severus. No matter how much he tried, Severus found that he didn't have the strength to remove the orb. _No no no no no no NO! _He had been so close. He collapsed to his knees, right hand still grasping the orb. Severus placed his forehead on the pedestal as he gave in to the familiar darkness.

"Lily…"

* * *

A cool breeze was the first thing Severus felt after death. That's not suppose to happen…

"What the fuck," said Snape with a raspy voice. There were no cool breezes in hell, especially in the thirteenth. The thirteenth district was a fucking desert! he couldn't even feel the hot sand of the desert beneath him. In fact, he felt something cool… and moist? What the hell is going on?

Severus opened his eyes and groaned. His eyes were extremely sensitive to light. His body felt like it had gone through 25 years of daily cruciatus. That last fall was definitely one of the more painful ways to die. After promising himself to never go in that manner again, Severus lifted himself up and observed his surroundings. This definitely wasn't the desert. He was in the middle of a grassy field. Severus tried to find any landmark that could help identify his location but all he could see was the green grass sway as the cool breeze swept over it.

"Where in hell am I?" wondered Severus aloud. It seemed too peaceful to be any of the divisions, although he certainly hasn't been everywhere in hell. Countless thoughts crossed his mind but one glimmer of hope stood out immediately. Had he succeeded? No one knew exactly where the orb led, but Severus always thought it led to heaven. He had always thought Lily would be there to greet him when he arrived. Where was she? He had spent years protecting her son, spent years as a spy, and had been damned to hell for her. _Was it still not enough? _

A slow, loud clapping started behind him.

He quickly spun around with his wand pointed toward the source of the noise. He stiffened, utter terror surging through his body. There was a beautiful dark haired young woman dressed in white robes standing in front of him. At first glance, she appeared to be human, but the deathly pale skin and glowing yellow eyes suggested a more… demonic origin. Severus knew exactly what she was. A Fallen.

"Congratulations Severus," said the demon. She started circling him. "It has been over a thousand years since the last person. That last spell was truly marvelous, where did you learn it?"

He didn't answer.

"Where did you learn it?" she snarled. The demon closed her eyes and smiled as she regained her composure. She pressed her body against his. "Please answer me Severus. I promise I won't bite… unless you want me to," she whispered in his ear. She began to run her lips down his jaw line.

"I invented it," said Severus as he stepped away from her. She smirked.

"That wasn't so… Hard now was it?" she asked. She grinned when there was no response.

"Who are you? What is this place?" asked Severus, ignoring her.

"I won't tell you my name, but you can call me… Feyn," said the demon. "This is the Draal, a realm between the world of the living and the world of the dead. It's purgatory in your tongue."

Severus stood there for a moment. "Why is it that I am not in Heaven or wherever it is that I am supposed to go?"

She laughed. "Heaven? Who said the orb led to Heaven? It merely tells us who's worthy. You can leave IF you do something for us," said Feyn.

That's not what he expected…

"What do I have to do?" Confusion momentarily overtook him. What could his task possibly be?

She turned serious, a stark contrast to her _playful_ display earlier. "You are an intriguing man Severus. You have done many evil deeds throughout your life, practiced the darkest of magic, but you still have a part of you that remains untouched. It really is tragic. Lily Evans will n-"

"And how she relevant?" interrupted Severus.

"Your love for Lily is the reason you're here. Your desire to see her again has been your motivation these past five years. Had it not been for this, we wouldn't be having this conversation right now."

"Enough," barked Severus. "Just tell me what I am supposed to do."

"Ever the impatient one," said Feyn. "Ever since Tom Riddle created his first hocrux, we have been unable to collect his soul. He is much more… valuable to us than you are. We want to send you back to 1976. You need to fuse Riddle's soul back together before you send him to us. In return, you get to stay there. "

Severus stood there momentarily stunned. _Does she think I'm an idiot? _"Go back… to 1976. How am I suppose to fuse his fucking soul back together?" sneered Severus.

"Your current magic will merge with the one you possessed in 1976. The power needed to repair souls can be found in one of our temples." She paused for a moment, seemingly contemplating something. "Our power is not to be used lightly. It is extremely powerful and can easily seduce."

"Has anyone else done this before?" questioned Severus

"Once," she replied, "you know him as Myrddin."

_Merlin. _"Did he succeed?"

"You tell me," replied Feyn. "Do not underestimate yourself Severus. I'm confident you'll do fine. Now, do you accept our proposal? This can be your chance to be with Lily."

_A chance… to be with Lily. _"I accept," replied Severus. "How am I suppose to find this library of yours?"

"Excellent," whispered Feyn with a smirk. She laid her head on his shoulder and put her hand on his chest, directly over his heart. A bright light emerged from her hand as she whispered in his ear. "This will mark you as mine. It will guide you through your journey."

All Severus felt was pain. The pain was so intense, much worse than his Terra Sancta. He collapsed to the floor clutching his chest, fingernails digging in as if to rip it out.

Severus was losing consciousness when a familiar feeling overtook him. It was the feeling of… He thought he heard Feyn speak.

_It won't be easy…_

* * *

There was a faint odor of dirty laundry lingering in the stale air. There were springs digging into his back and a lumpy pillow beneath his head. Severus opened his eyes and groaned. It appeared to be midday, judging by the amount of light that managed to penetrate dirty glass of the window.

He glanced around the small room. The walls and ceiling were painted a beige that Severus had assumed had once been white. There was a large and prominent crack on the drywall near the door. There was a pile of dirty laundry in the corner of the room, near an ancient desk with an even older chair. His Hogwarts chest placed at the foot of his bed along with a pile of textbooks. He appeared to be in his old bedroom.

Severus looked down on his left forearm and saw nothing but pale unmarked skin. _So it's true… I'm in the past. _He stood up slowly and removed his thin black shirt. There, amongst the inflamed skin of his chest, was some sort of black mark.

_Another brand. How is this suppose to guide me?_

He threw his shirt to the pile of laundry as he made his way to the dingy bathroom.

Severus stood at the mirror amazed at his reflection. His eyes were yellow! His eyes had always been a dark brown, almost black, but now his irises were the same shade that Feyn's had been when they weren't glowing. How was he suppose to walk around with yellow eyes? His teenage appearance also surprised him. The furrows that lined his face for much of his life were gone. A couple of whiteheads lined his nose and chin. His hair was still greasy. He looked so… young… and grimy. Was this how he always looked? He promised to have better hygiene this time around.

He wiped a bead of sweat off his forehead, then got a better look at the mark Feyn had given him. It appeared to be some sort of hieroglyphic. He had never seen anything quite like it. The mark looked quite… sinister. He gingerly raised his hand up to touch it then violently pulled it back moments later. It fucking burned his hand.

The mark seemed to glow for a second, before returning to its former color. Was that suppose to happen? He didn't know. He doubted that there was anyone alive that could help him. Severus wiped another bead of sweat off his forehead.

Why was it so hot? Early January is supposed to be freezing. _Wait a minute…_

Severus ran back to his room and rushed to the small calendar on his desk. He picked it up to look at the date.

"Fuck"

_19 August 1976_

* * *

_To be continued…_

**AN: **Hopefully it wasn't too bad.


End file.
